Wings on the Horizon
by HenryTheWise
Summary: One-shot. He had fought his way through the spider infested Deku Tree and the Dinosaur filled Dondongo Caverns... But nothing can prepare Link and Navi when they face their most dangerous adversary yet... The Cucco... Rated T for intense Cucco violence.


**A/N: I changed the name of the story. I figured that it might be playing A role in why it isn't being looked at (though it may also be because it's a one-shot)**

**This one-shot is dedicated to all the unfortunate souls lost in the fight against the Cucco. You will be missed…**

* * *

It was a dark and stormy night at Lon Lon Ranch… Okay, maybe it wasn't storming… Or dark for that matter… Okay, it was sunny, and it was the middle of the day…

…

It was a bright and sunshiny day at Lon Lon Ranch. There was not a single cloud in the sky. Ingo was busy mucking out the stalls (complaining the entire time about it), and Talon was in the middle of nap - I mean looking after his precious group of Super Cuccos.

But that isn't really all that important. While all of that boring stuff was going on, a certain green-clad Kokiri was lazing about in the middle of the horse pasture. Why he was lying down in a place where he could be trampled was anyone's guess…

As with all great mis-adventures, Link muttered the one phrase that was sure to have the goddesses shake their heads in dismay…

"I'm bored," the young boy huffed.

At the boy's remark, a bright blue fairy flew out from under his hat. Of course, she was currently glowing red from her annoyance, but that's beside the point.

"_If you're so bored, why haven't you gone to collect the Zora Sapphire yet!_" the angry fairy huffed.

Link groaned in exasperation. "But I've already got the Kokiri Emerald and the Goron Ruby! Don't you think I deserve a break!"

Navi didn't reply. It was true that the poor boy had been running himself ragged for the past few weeks trying to get his hands on the sacred gems, but it wasn't like they could take breaks. The fate of Hyrule was at stake for goddesses sakes!

"Besides," Link said, "Malon insisted that we stay for a few days. I was always told it would be rude to turn down their hospitality."

Navi sighed. "_Alright! But we can only stay for one day… Then we _have _to go!_"

Link grinned in triumph. It was rare that he could talk the persistent fairy down.

He got up off the ground, stretching. "Let's go find Malon. Maybe she'll play with us."

"_Whatever you want Link,_" Navi said, rolling her eyes. She was _so _done with this lazy kid for the day…

A quick look around yielded success. Over by the house, Malon seemed busy with something or another by the tree. Wasting no time, Link exited the pasture and ran over to her.

"Hey Malon!" Link shouted excitedly as he slid to a halt beside her. "Do you want to play something?"

Malon smiled at Link apologetically. "Sorry, but I have to help with chores right now! I'll be able to play in a little while though."

We'll ignore for right now the fact that there was nothing beside the house for her to do other than mess with the crate…

"Argh! I'm so bored though!" Link exclaimed with frustration.

"_You know…_"

"I'm not leaving till tomorrow!" Link snapped at the overbearing fairy. He turned back to the farm girl. "I'll just find something to do until you get done Malon."

"It won't take me long," Malon replied cheerfully, turning around and messing with the crate. Seriously, what is she working on over here!…

At that moment, Link noticed something out of the corner of his eye…

Next to the tree, scratching at the ground for insects or worms, was a cucco.

"I think I found something to do," Link said with a grin, drawing a deku stick out from nowhere. Wait… Where did _that_ come from!?

Link quietly snuck up on the cucco. It seemed oblivious to his existence. With a quick thrust, Link poked the bird with the stick.

The bird let loose a loud squawk of protest and proceeded to run off at high speeds.

Hearing the commotion, Malon looked up from whatever it was that she was doing. "Link… What are you doing…"

"Relax," Link said, grinning madly. "I'm just having a little fun!"

Link chased after the poor bird and swiped at it again with the deku stick, catching its tail feathers. This elicited another squawk from the angry bird.

"Seriously Link," Malon said, a slight tremble to her voice. "You _really _need to stop that now."

Navi caught the wavering in Malon's voice. Thinking that maybe Talon would get mad, Navi said, "_Leave the poor bird alone Link. Haven't you traumatized it enough?_"

"Come on, just one more time," Link said gleefully. He caught up to the bird and swung one last time, _finally_ breaking the deku stick.

Upon feeling the final blow, the cucco came to a screeching halt.

"Oh no…" Malon whispered, true terror coloring her voice. "Link. You have to run… NOW!"

With that, she took off running towards the barn faster than Link had ever seen her move.

"What? Why?" Link said, confused. He turned back towards the cucco…

It slowly turned to face him. Wait, was that a red _glint_ in its eyes?

"_I think we should listen to Malon…_" Navi said, feeling a strangely dark aura originating from the bird. Just as quickly as the farm girl, Navi bolted for the barn.

Link shook his head at the girls. "What are you guys afraid of, it's just a cucco."

Famous last words…

The cucco raised its head to the sky, and crowed...

The sound seemed to echo far and wide. It was much louder than any of the other crows that Link had heard used by the cuccos, including the one he initially used to wake Talon up at the castle.

Then there was silence…

Even the horses and cows were no longer making noise…

But then…

"What's that?" Link muttered, hearing a strange flapping sound coming from outside the ranch.

He didn't have to wait long.

Link's eyes widened in surprise when he saw what came over the wall…

Cuccos…

And not just a few. There were hundreds. Perhaps thousands! Link stared in awe as they started to black out the sky with their numbers. How could this be possible!

And it got worse. Link realized with growing horror that they seemed to be heading straight for him…

"What is goin- ARGH!"

The cucco who had summoned the flock was no longer sitting idle. It attacked Link's face with claws and beak, drawing blood.

"GET OFF!" Link screamed. He grabbed the furious bird and threw it away.

Precious time had been wasted however. The cucco army was almost upon him. Link immediately bolted for the barn, hoping that he could outrun the angry birds.

The flapping was like a roar in his ears. Clucking and squawking filled the air. Link started to feel more beaks and claws as the merciless birds started to catch up.

Link swung his arms, trying to give himself some more room and to get the angry birds off. Unfortunately, one of the cuccos managed to attack his legs, sending him falling to the ground.

They were on him within seconds. Clawing, pecking, crowing… Link screamed in pain as he felt the creatures tear into him. He drew his sword and swung, causing some, but not all, of the cuccos to back off. Link stumbled to his feet and kept running. He swung his sword desperately, trying to defend himself, but it only seemed to eg on the infuriated demons.

His vision was turning white: whether from pain or from the sheer amount of cuccos, Link couldn't be sure. Feathers clogged the air. He was breathing them in, choking…

Link collapsed again, this time from exhaustion. He could barely even feel them anymore. His vision darkened, and Link fell into blissful darkness…

* * *

Link's eyes snapped open. With a muffled cry, he sat up. He almost immediately went down though. He was covered from head to foot in bandages. His entire body felt like it was made of pain (if pain was an actual substance).

"Oh thank the goddesses!" Malon said with relief. "I thought you would never wake up!"

Malon was sitting next to his bedside, tears in her eyes. Resting on top of her head was his blue fairy, looking far more subdued than she ever looked before.

"How long have I been out," Link asked hoarsely, his throat feeling as if he had swallowed a few gallons of sand.

"_Two days…_" Navi said, fluttering down to sit beside Link on his pillow. "_I told you we should have gone to the Zora Domain…_"

For once, Link couldn't argue.

"What happened? Did the… cuccos…" Link shuddered, unable to finish his thought.

"Mr. Ingo saw what happened and pulled you into the barn," Malon told him. "He got cut up a bit as well."

Link winced. He felt bad that someone got hurt trying to save him from his own stupid mistake.

He shuddered again…

"Tell Mr. Ingo that I'm sorry," Link muttered. "I'm just going to leave now before anything else happens."

Link tries to get up, but immediately lies back down, wincing in pain.

"Oh no! You're not going _anywhere_!" Malon said with a smirk. "You still have another week of recovery left!"

Link groaned. Great, now he was going to be stuck in bed for an entire week…

Just perfect…

Malon got up, straightening her skirt. "I'm going to go help dad now. I'll be back to check on you a little later."

With that, she left the room.

Link and Navi watched after her in silence. The silence remained for a few minutes, before Navi yawned.

"_I'm sorry Link, but I'm going to take a nap. I've been up this entire time and I could use the sleep…_"

Link felt bad, knowing that his fairy guardian had to have been really worried about him. "Sure Navi, have a good nap."

Navi didn't reply, having already curled up and fallen asleep.

Link sighed. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to alleviate the boredom other than to follow Navi's example. Link rolled over and closed his eyes…

And felt a presence…

He was not sure why, but he knew that he was being watched. He cracked open his eyes and looked towards the window…

And felt his eyes snap open, fear bubbling up inside him. Standing on the window seal, glaring in from outside, was the cucco…

And he was definitely not happy…

* * *

**A/N: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why Link relishes eating fried cucco. I hope you enjoyed my sudden bout of random inspiration. Hopefully it will keep sparking so I can write the next chapter of OoD.**

**Until next time then!**


End file.
